Le Moyne Pictures

When you look at these pictures, you
should keep a few things in mind.

A. Jacques LeMoyne drew them over 400 years ago. He actually
saw some of the things he drew, but others, the Timucua just told him about. They may have
made some things up. So, not everything LeMoyne drew is true.

B. The Spanish from St. Augustine burned down all of the
buildings in the French fort (Ft. Caroline) to make the French leave La Florida. Almost
all of LeMoynes drawings were burned up. He redrew them from memory. This means
there were probably lots of mistakes because he couldnt remember everything exactly.

C. After LeMoyne died, another man, named Theodore DeBry,
decided to use his pictures. DeBry may have changed the pictures to make them look better,
by filling in the background, adding more people, or rearranging them entirely.

D. Its unlucky for us that LeMoynes original
artwork about the Timucua is lost. But we can still learn about the Timucua by studying
DeBrys engravings and trying to figure out what is true and what isnt.

E. After each picture, Ive added some descriptions
that were probably written by a French soldier named Laudonniere. Some of these
descriptions are true, and some may be false.

F. After the descriptions, Ive written about some ways
the pictures are true and false. If you want to learn more about the French and the
Timucua People, read this book: A Foothold in Florida, by W. John Faupel, ISBN#0
9514914 3 1. It is available at the Ft. Caroline National Memorial in Jacksonville, FL.
This book is written on a grown-up level.

French Descriptions: "When the creatures are hungry
they come out of the water onto the islands to hunt but if they could not find anything
they made a terrible noise that could be heard for half a mile. Then the guard called ten
or twelve others who approached the large and terrifying creature with a long tree trunk.
As it crawled towards them with its jaws open they rammed the pointed end down its throat.
Because of the roughness of the bark it could not get free so they were able to twist it
over and shoot arrows into its soft belly, club and spear it, then cut it open. The hard
scales made its back impossible to penetrate, especially if the creature was old..."

True and False: This probably is how the Timucua hunted
alligators. These reptiles have hard scales (called scutes) under the skin on their backs.
Arrows and spears will not go through these scales. Flipping the alligator over, to hunt
him on his softer belly, was a good idea. If the Timucua could trick the alligator into
biting the tree trunk pole, they could hunt it. Once the alligator bit down, the pole
would get stuck in its mouth and throat. Then the alligator couldnt bite anyone. But
the Timucua still had to avoid the alligators dangerous thrashing tail. They turned
the pole over, and the alligator turned too, since the pole was stuck in its mouth!
Presto, the Timucua could hunt the alligator on its softer belly! Lets look at the
false part now. Timucua bows were not shaped like that. And the alligator in the front
would have been about 80 feet long. Thats way too big, even for 400 years ago. 25
feet long is believable, but not 80. Also, have you ever seen an alligator with big ears?
How about those fingers? It is pretty clear that DeBry had never seen a real alligator,
because the ones in his engraving dont look realistic at all. Theres one more
thing wrong with this picture. The hunters look like theyre naked. This is probably
FALSE. The men would have worn some kind of protective clothing, like a loin cloth (bikini
bathing suit). They would not have hunted more than one alligator at a time either. That
was just LeMoynes way of getting the whole hunting process into one drawing.

French Descriptions: "The Indians, when hunting
deer, used ingenuity such as we had never seen before. They fitted the skins of the
largest deer that they have been able to catch over their bodies so that the deers
head covered their own and they were able to look through the eye holes as if it were a
mask. Having previously noted the time when the deer came down to the river to drink, the
Indians, dressed like this, were able to approach and get really close to them without
arousing their suspicions. There were a lot of deer in that region so they were easily
able to shoot them with their bows and arrows. In doing this they had learnt to protect
their left arm with tree bark from the string of the bow. They were able to remove the
deer skin and prepare it without any metal knife, just shells, with such skill that I
doubt there was anyone in the whole of Europe who could do it better."

True and False: This picture is probably very true. The
deers antlers are not drawn quite right, and the Timucua probably couldnt get
that close to the deer, but they could get close enough to get a good shot. Other Native
American peoples call this specially made deer hide a "deer cloak." The legs and
head were left on. The antlers could have been hollowed out so they wouldnt be
heavy. If you stayed bent down, a deer cloak actually made you look like a deer.

French Descriptions: "In order that the game lasted
longer, they prepared it in the following way. They pushed four large wooden forked stakes
into the earth and laid sticks over these like a grate onto which they laid out the game
and fish. Beneath this they build a fire, the smoke from which hardens all the food. They
were very careful to ensure it was dried out really well so that it would not rot, as can
be seen in this picture. I believe these food supplies were prepared in this way to help
them through the winter during which they lived in the woods. For this purpose they had
storehouses for food, as I have said, and these were built under a crag or rock at the
waters edge, not far from the dense wood so they could collect what they needed by
small boat."

True and False: Most of this drawing is probably true.
The shape of the wooden rack may not be exactly right. And the animals would probably have
been butchered, with their meat cut into small slices before it was smoked and dried.
However, by leaving the animals whole, LeMoyne or DeBry may have hoped to teach us about
some of the animals the Timucua ate: fish, fox, snake, deer, and alligator in this
picture. The fact that there are eight fish on the rack should tell us that the Timucua
ate a lot of fish. The description says that the food was stored under a rock at the edge
of the water. There arent many rocks in eastern Florida, so this (at least the rock
part) was probably made up. This drawing also shows the MEN smoking the meat. This may
mean that men helped with at least some of the cooking. It also gives us a good look at
the mens hair tied into a bun and their ear decorations.

French Descriptions: "The young men were trained in
running and those who could run the longest distance were given special prizes. They were
also coached, especially in archery. Then they played a certain ball game in the following
manner. A post was erected in the middle of an area, about eight or nine yards high, on
the top of which was a rectangular wooden frame woven from rushes, and the one who managed
to hit it with a ball was awarded a prize. Apart from this they also enjoyed hunting and
fishing very much."

True and False: This picture does give us a good idea of
the kind of games and training the boys had while growing up. However, DeBry probably made
up most of this picture himself. The way the young men are running and holding their bows
is not realistic. LeMoyne would have done a better job if hed done the original
drawing. Also, the target pole is not supposed to have tree roots; its a pole. Last
of all, the trees and things in the background are not Florida plants, so the background
was definitely made up by DeBry. Another French man, Laudonniere (Law-don-ee-yeah) wrote
that the boys also had contests to see who could hold his breath the longest (good
practice for swimming). The bows are not shaped correctly for Floridas Native
Americans; they should not be recurved at the ends.